Two offices into one: the CWMD Office.

From 2016 to 2017 I worked on DHS budget review, in the Chief Financial Officer's Program Analysis and Evaluation office. The budget figures and the dates of DHS and congressional actions come from the public documents listed at the end.

What I did

I built the benefit-cost analysis supporting the consolidation of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) and most of the Office of Health Affairs (OHA), together $457.0M in FY2018 enacted funding [3], into the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office. DHS carried it out under section 872 of the Homeland Security Act in December 2017 [3], and Congress established the office in law in 2018 [7].

I challenged a renewed proposal to upgrade the BioWatch biodetection system during DHS budget review, citing its narrow coverage (six agents) and its 12-to-36-hour detection time [9]. DHS cancelled the upgrade effort in September 2018 on cost and false-alarm grounds [9].

What the budget shows

The combined office's first enacted budget, $434.9M for FY2019, was $22.1M (4.8%) below the two offices' FY2018 total [3] [5].

$0

$100M

$200M

$300M

$400M

$500M

$472.4M

$476.0M

$457.0M

$434.9M

FY2016DNDO + OHA

FY2017DNDO + OHA

FY2018DNDO + OHA

FY2019CWMD Office

Part of that gap is work that moved rather than stopped. OHA's workforce health program ($9.2M) went to DHS Management, and a net $2.1M of work came in from other DHS offices [4]. Counting only the same functions in both years, FY2019 was $15.0M (3.3%) below FY2018.

Later years do not compare like for like: more functions moved out of the office in FY2021 and FY2023.

Explore the budget

Pick a fiscal year from FY2019 to FY2025 and compare the office's enacted budget with FY2018, as enacted and counted on the same functions. Every figure comes from the documents listed under Sources.

Timeline

1. April 2014DHS cancels the BioWatch Gen-3 acquisition: its analysis did not confirm a benefit large enough to justify the cost. [8] [9]
2. 2016 to 2017I build the benefit-cost analysis for the consolidation, and challenge the renewed BioWatch upgrade proposal in budget review.
3. 6 October 2017DHS tells the appropriations committees it will use section 872 of the Homeland Security Act to create a CWMD Office. [3]
4. 5 December 2017The CWMD Office takes effect. DNDO and OHA keep their separate accounts through FY2018. [3]
5. September 2018DHS cancels the BioWatch upgrade effort, citing its cost and the high false-alarm rate of the trigger technology. [9]
6. 21 December 2018Congress writes the CWMD Office into law and asks for a yearly report on any resulting cost savings and efficiencies. [7]
7. FY2019The combined office's first enacted budget: $434.9M. [5]
8. 31 July 2020DHS sends Congress its report for FY2019 under that law. The report is not public. [10]
9. FY2023The Chief Medical Officer's funding and 44 positions move out of the office, to a new health security office ($21.3M). [6]

Sources

1. DHS FY2018 budget justification, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
2. DHS FY2018 budget justification, Office of Health Affairs
3. FY2018 omnibus, Division F (Homeland Security) explanatory statement
4. DHS FY2019 budget justification, CWMD, OHA and DNDO (transfer tables)
5. DHS FY2021 budget justification, CWMD Office (FY2019 enacted)
6. DHS FY2023 budget justification, CWMD Office
7. Public Law 115-387, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018
8. GAO-14-267T, BioWatch
9. GAO-21-292, BioWatch
10. GAO-22-104498, CWMD Office

Agency names are where the work was done. They are not endorsements.